The Joys of Children
by Holz9364
Summary: Lisbon is babysitting her niece for the weekend whilst her brother is on holiday, but she gets an urgent call & has to go in to solve a case, with her niece. Jane bonds with the girl & trouble ensues! Jane/Lisbon
1. Aunt Tessie

**The Joys of Children**

**Chapter 1- Aunt Tessie  
**

"AUNTIE TESSIE!"

The call from the front door reached her before the sound of the doorbell did, with a small smile lingering on her lips Teresa Lisbon answered her front door only to have her gorgeous little niece jump into her arms enthusiastically.

Smiling at her brother who had just appeared panting outside the door, apparently he had chased Lucy all the way from the car, "Sorry, she got excited and ran off." He panted out as he leant in her doorway.

Lisbon laughed, "Its okay Tommy, I'm excited to see her too." She said as she looked down at her five year old niece who was clinging to her tightly.

Her brother, Tommy, handed over a large bag, "It's got all her clothes for the weekend, I packed dresses for sunny weather and jeans in case it got a bit chilly. Remember not to give her anything with nuts because she's allergic and her bedtime is 7pm, unless she has a nap during the day, if she does don't worry about it, just let her stay up a little later."

Throughout her brothers nervous ramblings Lisbon was trying not to laugh as she watched him in amusement, he hated leaving his little girl, his only child, but he was going away for the first time since his honeymoon and when his wife had bought the tickets he couldn't say no, "Tommy, I've watched her before, we'll be fine." She told him with a smile.

He nodded, "I know you will, I'm just…well you know how I hate leaving her." He told her gently.

Lisbon reached out and touched his shoulder, "I know, but we'll be fine. Go and enjoy your weekend in Rome!"

With a genuine smile this time he thanked her, hugged her awkwardly as his daughter was still clinging to her and kissed Lucy goodbye before heading back across the lawn to his car. From the door of her bottom floor apartment Lisbon and Lucy waved goodbye to Tommy until the car was out of sight.

It was 8pm on Friday evening and after a long case all Lisbon wanted to do was get to bed, but she knew she would have to settle Lucy first, she knew for a fact that the little girl would have slept the entire drive from San Francisco to Sacramento so she asked, "Are you sleepy honey?" As she closed the door and set Lucy down on the ground.

She shook her head at her Aunt, "No, can we watch a movie Auntie Tessie?" She asked happily.

Lisbon smiled, there was no harm in watching a movie until she was tired enough for bed, "Of course we can sweetie." She said and with that she let Lucy look through her DVD collection until a happy squeal announced that she had found "Pocahontas."

Although she may not seem like the motherly type of person anyone who saw Teresa Lisbon with her only niece would be surprised, she was a natural with the little girl and loved her like her own, it was part of the reason she forced herself to spend Christmas dinner with Tommy and her other brothers, there was always a drama at the dinner table, but then there was Lucy happily hugging them all when she opened her presents, it made it feel worthwhile. She knew that she wanted kids of her own, but she hadn't found the right person to have them with yet, she didn't know if she ever would.

When Lucy fell asleep on her lap halfway through the movie Lisbon realised that she had probably lied about not being tired. With a smile she moved the girl into the spare-room which served as her room because she was the only person who used it. She got to sleep there when Lisbon was babysitting and she had added a few touches to it herself. The walls were now a light pink and she had (very well for a 5 year old) painted her name on the wall with purple paint.

Lisbon lay Lucy down on her bed and tucked her in, she must have been exhausted because she didn't wake. As she looked around the room she realised it was like having a daughter, the pink room and the children's drawings on the walls, the paper stacked around the room with abandoned pictures, the cuddly toys that surrounded the little girl in the bed with pink covers, she treated Lucy like her own even if she did only get to have her stay over a few times a month.

Tommy's job meant he was away a lot, being in the oil business did that to you and when he was on the rigs and his wife Amanda was working late hours at the hospital they sometimes had to ask her to watch Lucy, she didn't mind of course and Lucy loved the attention she got from her Aunt. At home her parents were so busy concentrating on work that they didn't notice her sometimes, but with her 'Auntie Tessie' she got spoiled rotten.

The one thing about the room that made her shiver was a smiley face on the wall, Lucy had decided that her name didn't look good enough so she had drawn a love heart at one side and a smiley face at the other, both in purple paint. The smiley was eerily similar to a Red John smiley and whenever she saw it she felt shivers run up her spine.

She had made a mental note a long time ago to never let Jane in this room, a little girls room with a smiley like that could surely only bring back bad memories.

Pulling herself out of her reverie she turned off the light and left the door ajar before heading for her own bedroom next door. She settled herself under the covers, thinking of how she could spend her weekend with her adorable niece, they had gone to the cinema the last time she had stayed, maybe they could go to the mall and buy her a new toy to add to her temporary room, she felt herself drifting off to sleep as she planned her weekend with the little girl.

**A/N- This is already completed, I wrote it as one long fan fic, but it was nearly 10,000 words long so I had to break it up when I was posting it!**

**I got the idea when I was watching the Mentalist and saw how good Jane & Lisbon were with that little girl Ashley, hope you guys like it!**

**Thanks for reading! & if you feel nice, how about a review? ;D I'm a sad little person so they really do make my day hehe!**


	2. A Call From The Office

**The Joys of Children**

**Chapter 2- A Call From The Office  
**

**_RING RING_**

Why was someone calling her so late?

**_RING RING_**

She should really answer her cellphone.

**_RING RING_**

As the sound became louder and shriller Lisbon groggily opened her eyes and looked at the time on the bedside clock, 6am on Saturday morning. She immediately worried that something had happened to Tommy and Amanda and grabbed her phone frantically, looking at the Caller ID however she noticed that it said 'CBI', someone was calling from the building, it could only be Hightower.

Frowning she answered her cell, "Lisbon."

Her guess was correct as her boss's voice came down the phone line, "A big shot politician was just found mutilated in his apartment." She stated.

At first Lisbon felt dread, cold dread sweeping through her, "Red John?" She asked and she was sure the panic was evident in her voice.

"No." Hightower reassured her before snapping back into business mode, "No smiley face or anything like that, we expect it was the ex-wife because she's vanished, but his lover's dad works for the government so he called for the best, the AG phoned me and here we are." She said.

Lisbon knew that the case was important and that although it was unexpected she should jump at the chance to work, but not today, not this weekend, "Can the team handle it without me?" She asked cautiously.

"Why, do you have better things to do?" Hightower asked curtly.

Lisbon chewed her lip as she made her way into the living room, "Well it's just that we weren't on call this weekend so-"

"If you've made plans you need to cancel them, this is important Lisbon." Hightower wasn't going to back down and Lisbon knew it, but there was no one around to watch Lucy, biting her tongue she decided she would have to tell her boss the truth.

"My brother and his wife are in Rome so I'm looking after my niece for the weekend, she has no family around here that I can leave her with and I have no friends other than the team." She told Hightower honestly and maybe the genuine panic and anxiety in her voice was what softened Hightower's voice, "You're just going to have to bring her with you. Make sure someone is with her at all times, but keep her away from the crime scenes." There was a pause, "Sorry Agent Lisbon, but this case is really big, I'm going to need you in the office for 7am if you can make it."

Looking down the hall at Lucy's half open door she nodded, more to herself as she knew Hightower couldn't see her, "Yes Ma'am."

"Thank you Lisbon." Was all she said before she hung up the phone.

Checking her watch Lisbon decided to get herself ready before she woke up Lucy, she was going to have to wake her at half past 6, far too early for the little girl, but there was nothing else she could do.

She showered, dried her hair and got dressed, but by the time she was done it was still only 6.20 so she decided to make a start on the breakfast. Lisbon wasn't sure if it was the sizzling of the frying pan or the smell of pancakes that had brought the tired little girl to the kitchen table, but almost exactly on 6.30 she wandered into the room and sat herself down.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Lisbon asked her niece who nodded tiredly, "I only had good dreams last night." She told her Aunt with a smile.

Lisbon returned the smile, "Well that's good sweetie. Would you like some pancakes for breakfast?"

Brightening up entirely Lucy nodded, "Yes please Aunt Tessie!" She exclaimed making Lisbon laugh as she put two pancakes on her plate.

When they were both sitting down eating breakfast Lisbon broke the news to her niece, "Now Lucy, I know I promised we would have a fun weekend, but I have to go to work this weekend." Lucy's face fell and Lisbon felt incredibly guilty, "But you get to meet all of my friends that I tell you stories about and you can ride around in the big work car with us and one of my friends might even let you sit on his comfy couch."

Immediately Lucy looked happy again, Lisbon often told her niece about her co-workers and every time she babysat the little girl she always asked to see them, sometimes she would show her photos, but she had never actually met the people she heard so much about.

"So I get to meet Patrick _and_ Wayne _and_ Grace _and_ Cho?" She asked, hopping up and down on her chair now, Lisbon laughed, "Yes, but first you have to eat all of your breakfast and get dressed." She told the 5 year old.

At once she began to eat her pancakes very quickly and shaking her head in amusement Lisbon handed her niece a glass of milk, once she had downed it in a couple of gulps she was running to her room to rummage through her bag for clothes.

Hurrying after her to make sure that she didn't make a mess Lisbon opened the curtains in the spare-room (that was really Lucy's room) and when she saw the sun-shining decided to put her niece in a dress.

As Lucy talked excitedly about getting to meet her Aunts friends and wearing her most pretty dress Lisbon smiled at her, but inside she was more than a little worried about dragging her niece around crime scenes all weekend, they could get violent and she knew it would scare the little girl. If she could she would try and get this case closed as quickly as possible.

Once Lucy was wearing a long green dress that matched her emerald eyes (startlingly bright green eyes were a trait she had inherited from her father, every Lisbon had them) Lisbon began to brush her nieces hair, she loved the little's girls hair, it was the same shade of brown as hers was, but it was very long, it almost reached her bottom. She had the occasional 'ouch' when she hit a tug, but once she was done and had put a matching green headband in her nieces hair they were ready to go.

Glancing at her watch she realised that it was now 6.45 and it usually took about 10 minutes to get to the office if the traffic wasn't bad. Grabbing her phone and very subtly putting her gun in her back pocket Lisbon lifted Lucy up, left the house, locked the door and buckled her in the passenger seat of the car in the baby seat she kept at all times in case she needed to take Lucy quickly in an emergency.

When they were in the car, driving the (thankfully) quiet roads to the CBI building Lucy picked up her chatter once more, she inherited that trait from her mother, who talked constantly.

"Auntie Tessie?" She asked quietly after Lisbon had just explained how motorbikes worked to the girl.

"What is it honey?" Lisbon asked, a little concerned about the little girls sudden mood change.

"What if you're friends don't like me?" She asked, looking up at her Aunt with her big green eyes full of worry.

Lisbon's heart melted in that moment, what a sweet little girl she was, "You're the sweetest, loveliest niece in the entire world." She told Lucy with a smile, "How could they not like you?"

This got a grin from the girl and immediately her doubts were gone, "I can't wait to see Patrick Janes couch and you said Grace Van Pelt has lovely red hair like my Mommy's and I want to try and make Kimball Cho smile and I wonder if I can beat Wayne Rigsby in an eating fight!" She shot all of this out very quickly causing her Aunt to laugh at how she remembered all of their names and what she had told her niece about them.

Patrick Jane spent all day on his couch, she remembered that conversation, Lucy had been appalled and said that sitting on a couch all day was a very lazy thing to do. She had then told her niece about how Grace Van Pelt was very pretty and very kind with beautiful red hair like her mother, Amanda. She had also told her of how Kimball Cho didn't speak very much and it was very hard to make him smile, Lucy had frowned and asked why he didn't smile, she said he must be sad and vowed to make him happy when she met him. She had got a challenging look in her eye, very similar to one Lisbon herself got with Jane sometimes when she had told Lucy that Wayne Rigsby could beat anyone in an eating contest, Lucy had gotten confused and assumed she meant a food fight.

The surprising thing was, most of these conversations had been over a year ago and yet Lucy remembered everything from the stories, it surprised her, but she found it incredibly cute.

**A/N- In the next chapter, Lucy meets the team ;D**

**Thanks for reading! **


	3. Lucy Meets The Team

**The Joys Of Children**

**Chapter 3 - Lucy Meets the Team**

When the car stopped in the CBI parking lot and Lisbon took her nieces hand that was when she thought about something for the first time since her call with Hightower, would Jane be okay? He was usually really good around little girls in short doses, but Lucy could be with them all weekend and she was 5 years old, the age Janes daughter had been when Red John killed her.

She stopped, a little warily as she reached the elevator, but knew she had to _do_ her job or the case wouldn't get closed and she could _lose_ her job. It was Saturday and most of the teams were on leave without being on-call, like her team had been so the building was relatively empty.

"Aunt Tessie can I push the button?" Lucy asked as she jumped up and down on the spot, Lisbon smiled and nodded causing Lucy to let go of her hand and run forward to push the button on the elevator.

Swallowing her worries and doubts Lisbon walked forward to where Lucy was waiting by the elevator and took her nieces hand as it arrived. The entire way up in the elevator to the 5th floor where her team's bullpen was Lucy continued to bob up and down on the balls of her feet in excitement. Lisbon found it cute because she knew that although she was excited and hyper now, she would be shy as soon as she saw the team. The girl was bouncy and fun when she got to know people, but very shy around new people.

When the elevator reached the 5th floor with a ping and Lisbon walked into the bullpen, the reactions of the team were so priceless that she forgot her worries for a moment. Rigsbys jaw actually dropped, Cho's eyes widened just a little, Van Pelt nearly fell off her chair and Jane hadn't opened his eyes yet.

"Uh Boss?" Rigsby said, his way of asking 'what the hell is going on?'

"You have a daughter?" Van Pelt asked in confusion and immediately Jane's eyes flew open. Lisbon was shocked at what her colleague had said, but when she looked at her niece she could see why Van Pelt had jumped to the conclusion, she had the same colour of hair and the same green eyes, she did look a lot like her.

Lisbon opened her mouth to correct Van Pelt, but Lucy got to it first, apparently not as shy as she usually was, "No silly, she's my Auntie Tessie! Not my Mommy!" Lucy told her giggling.

Van Pelt smiled at the adorable girl, "And what's your name?" She asked.

Puffing out her chest proudly Lucy replied, "Lucy Teresa Jacky Lisbon. My middle names are for my Auntie Tessie and my Grandma! _AND _I'm 5 years old and I know where I live too!"

Lisbon smiled down at the girl, "You're a very clever girl." She said before turning to Jane whose jaw looked a little slack.

Following her eye-line Lucy saw the man and eyed the couch suspiciously. Lisbon chuckled, "Yes Lucy that's Patrick Jane."

Lucy walked over to where he was lying on the couch and crossed her arms, Jane tried not to laugh at how Lisbon-like she looked. He smiled at the little girl, "Yes?"

She said, "My Auntie Tessie told me about you, she says you sit on a couch _ALL _day!"

Jane grinned, "She's right, that's what I do."

Lucy looked at him with a scrutinising look that was very adorable, "I think you're very lazy." She said and Jane actually chuckled, "I suppose I am."

Lisbon shook her head in amusement at her niece before saying, "Lucy this is Grace Van Pelt, Wayne Rigsby and Kimball Cho."

Lucy skipped back over to her Aunt and slid her hand into hers, "My Auntie Tessie has told me all about you all, she sometimes tells me stories when she looks after me, she told me once that you ran into a building on fire!" She said to Rigsby, who looked rather proud as he tried to shrug it off, "Yeah, I did that once."

Her eyes widened as if hearing it from him was so much better than hearing it in the form of a story from Lisbon, "Wow."

Rigsby smiled at the girl, she really was adorable. Jane had gotten up from his sofa, "Does your Auntie Tessie tell you stories about me?" He asked the girl, sending a smirk towards Lisbon.

She nodded, looking at him with a big grin, "She sometimes tells me good stories and she sometimes tells me bad stories."

"Mostly bad stories." Lisbon said, with a small smile at Jane who just grinned, "What kind of stories are the good ones?" He asked, kneeling at the girl's level. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lisbon blush.

"She says that you annoy her because you can be a meanie sometimes, but I think you seem nice, but my Aunt Tessie says sometimes when you stop acting like a meanie you are really nice to her and she says that if you stopped acting like a meanie more then maybe she would-"

"Alright enough with the story telling." Lisbon cut in as she lifted Lucy up and tried to get her blush under control, "We have to get to the scene as soon as possible, we're going to have to take Lucy with us, but can you stay with her in the car Van Pelt?"

Van Pelt nodded, "Sure Boss."

"I want to hear more about your stories Lucy." Jane told Lucy with a grin that widened as the blush crept up Lisbons face again.

"No chance." Lisbon told him and with a gesture to the team she made her way out of the building towards the car.

Jane grinned at Cho as they followed Lisbon, Van Pelt and Rigsby towards the SUV, "Why do I have the feeling this is going to be a fun case?"

The question was rhetorical, but Cho answered, "Because you're going to interrogate Lisbons niece until she tells you lots of embarrassing things about Lisbon that you can use as blackmail."

Jane grinned at the man, "What can I say Cho, you know me very well."

**A/N- Thanks for reading! Hope you like it so far!**


	4. Are We There Yet?

**The Joys of Children**

**Chapter 4 - Are We There Yet?**

They had been in the SUV for 5 minutes when it began. Lisbon was driving, Jane was in the passenger seat, Van Pelt, Rigsby, Cho and Lucy were in the back.

"Auntie Tessie, are we there yet?" She asked and Jane smiled slightly as he became immersed in a memory.

**"_Daddy, are we there yet?"_**

**"_Not yet Rosie." Was Patrick's chuckled response._**

**_There was a sigh from the back seat, "But I'm bored."_**

**"_I know honey, not long now"_**

**_5 minutes later, "Daddy, are we there yet?" had come from the back of the car again and the same discussion happened all over again._**

He snapped back into reality when he felt Lisbons hand brush his as she reached behind her to give Van Pelt her handbag.

Having missed part of the conversation he watched as Van Pelt raked through the bag, finally pulling out a colouring book with pencils attached to the front.

Happily drawing away she remained quiet for the rest of the drive, Jane however didn't, "So you're babysitting her tonight then?" He asked, casually, but she knew he was fishing for information.

Lisbon nodded, "Yeah, all weekend actually. Tommy and his wife are in Rome so I asked for this weekend off, but we still got called in." She sighed, checking on the girl in her mirror, "I promised her a weekend of cinemas, shopping and doing fun stuff together, but now I'm going to have to drag her around crime scenes."

Jane shrugged, "I think I know who did it anyway." He said, causing Lisbon to roll her eyes, "Sure you do Jane." She said as she pulled into the parking lot of the hotel where the murder had been committed.

Turning to the people in the back of the car she said, "Cho I want you to question the witnesses, Rigsby talk to the staff, Jane and I are going to check out the scene."

With nods the two Agents left the car, Lisbon turned to where Lucy was still drawing and Van Pelt was watching her, "Sorry for leaving you here with her, I know you want to work."

Van Pelt just smiled, "It's alright Boss."

"I'll take over once I've checked the scene out." She assured Van Pelt, "Alright Lucy I have to go and do some work stuff." She said gently to her niece who looked up from her drawing, "Okay Aunt Tessie." She said as she walked to the front of the SUV to hug her Aunt from where she sat in the driving seat.

"Love you Aunt Tessie." She said as she kissed Lisbons cheek, Lisbon smiled genuinely at the girl, Jane could tell Lucy had her Aunt wrapped around her little finger, "Love you too honey, be on you're best behaviour for Grace alright?"

Lucy nodded and feeling more than a little guilty for leaving her niece in the car with her co-worker she jumped out and Jane followed her, by the time they reached the hotel doors he was walking by her side, "Don't feel guilty, it wasn't your fault that some guy had to go and get murdered." He commented lightly.

Lisbon just rolled her eyes, "Stop reading my mind Jane." She whined as she walked ahead of him to the crime scene.

**88888888888**

It was lunchtime and the case was half-solved already, thanks to Jane of course. They knew it was the ex-wife who had killed the victim, because Jane had managed to call her and ask her some questions that he decided made her a mad killer, the problem now was tracking her down because she had fled on the same day as the victim had been murdered. Forensics were just in and apparently some of her blood was mingled with the victims so he had clearly put up a fight.

Lucy was still as happy and bouncy as she had been in the morning, but she had been working on a drawing all day that she wouldn't let anyone see until it was finished.

It was now 12.30pm and the team (+Lucy) were in the office.

"Aunt Tessie, I'm hungry." Lucy told her Aunt from where she was lying on the couch of Lisbons office, drawing on her notepad.

Lisbon looked at her watch and remembered Lucy usually ate at 12pm, it was incredibly difficult to fill in the paperwork for the case and watch her niece at the same time, she had completely lost track of the time.

"Okay sweetie, let's go and get lunch." She told Lucy as she stood up and held out her hand, Lucy closed her notepad, jumped up from the couch and took her Aunts hand.

Lisbon popped her head into the bullpen on her way to the elevator, "I'm taking Lucy for lunch, call me if you find anything." she told the team. Van Pelt nodded at Lisbon and waved goodbye to Lucy who giggled, she had taken quite a shine to Van Pelt.

At that moment Jane jumped up from his couch and grabbed his jacket, Lisbon raised an eyebrow at the man, "What are you doing?" She asked.

He grinned, "Coming to lunch with you, if that's all right?" He was asking Lucy more than Lisbon and the little girl grinned, "You never told me Patrick was coming too Aunt Tessie!"

Lisbon smiled at her niece, but as soon as she looked away from her Aunts face she shot Jane a glare, but he only grinned as he began to walk towards the elevator with them.

Lisbon had decided that with the case being so important and so close to an end they would have lunch somewhere near the CBI in case anything important popped up. The nearest café was a 5 minute walk away and as they were walking down the street Lucy, who was already holding Lisbons hand grabbed Janes.

Jane smiled at the little girl, but Lisbons cheeks turned scarlet at how the scene looked, she and Jane walking outside the CBI, on the side of Hightower's office with a child between them, not good for the rumour mill at all.

Jane apparently sensed this too from the way he glanced up at the building, but it didn't seem to bother him as he found himself chatting away to Lucy.

"So you don't sit on your couch all of the time." Lucy said rationally, "You go in the car and get lunch too."

Jane smiled, "So I'm not lazy anymore?"

Lucy shook her head, "You're still lazy, but you're not as lazy as my Uncle Mark, he sits in his house all of the time and I don't like it when he looks after me because he gives me cereal for my lunch _and _my dinner!" The look of annoyance on her face made her look very much like Lisbon and he found it hard to believe that they were only related through her brother.

He had seen photos before and they did all have bright green eyes and dark hair, he supposed he could see where the resemblance came from, but some of the expressions she pulled made her look so much like his boss it was funny.

"Well that is very lazy, cereal is only for breakfast," He told the girl as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Lucy nodded, "My Mommy makes me cereal for my breakfast, but when I stay with Aunt Tessie I get pancakes, but I'm not allowed to tell my Mommy because she says Aunt Tessie is trying to make all my teeth fall out!" She told Jane giggling as though telling him this was like telling him a big secret.

"Bad Aunt Tessie." Jane tutted with a grin Lisbons way, which resulted in her giving him a classic Lisbon eye-roll, of course this only made Jane grin more.

When they reached the café and sat down with their sandwiches and drinks, Lisbon on her usual coffee, Jane with some form of herbal tea and Lucy with a large chocolate milkshake the trio ate in silence, but when Lucy was finished her sandwich her chatter started up again.

"You know my Aunt Tessie says that she didn't used to like her work much." Lucy told Jane matter of factly, "She said it was boring, but she liked it because she had nice friends." Lucy continued and Jane watched her intently, wondering where this was going, "But she likes it more now because she gets to work with you."

Lisbons cheeks flushed as Jane turned to her smiling, "So you do like working with me after all." He said, sounding rather proud of himself, "All the 'I hate you Jane' and 'I wanna shot you Jane' stuff, I knew it was just an act."

Lisbon glared at him, "It really wasn't a act" She said and Lucy jumped in, "Aunt Tessie once told me that she would shoot you, but she didn't want to go to jail because guns and jail is bad." She finished nodding to herself.

Jane nodded back, "Guns and jail are bad, that's why you're Aunt Tessie would never shoot me." Grinning a little cheekily at Lisbon he added, "And she loves me too much."

Lucy's eyes widened, "My Aunt Tessie loves you?" She asked and Lisbon cut in, "He just means as a friend Lucy, I love all of the team as friends." She said, saving herself as Lucy nodded, "I love all of my friends too and I love Patrick and Wayne and Grace and even Kim, but he's a little scary."

Lisbon chuckled, Lucy couldn't pronounce Kimball right so she had taken to calling the man 'Kim' much to his annoyance, but he found the girl so adorable that he didn't have the heart to show his annoyance at her. She had melted all of their hearts, even Cho's.

**A/N- I wonder how Cho would react to being called Kim? Haha would certainly be amusing!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Hightower Meets Lucy

**The Joys of Children**

**Chapter 5- Hightower Meets Lucy  
**

Jane, Lisbon and Lucy were just preparing to leave the café where the had enjoyed lunch to head back to the office when Lisbons cell rang, "Lisbon?"

"Boss we have a problem." It was Cho.

Lisbon frowned, "What kind of problem?"

"Well the good news is we found the ex-wife." Cho said, a little anxiously which meant the bad news was really bad because Cho rarely showed his anxiety.

"And the bad news?" Lisbon asked, more than a little concerned now.

"Well she's in the CBI building, but she's dead. Drug overdose, we have no way to get a confession." Cho told her and Lisbon cursed inwardly.

"Have forensics take her body, go and search her apartment with Van Pelt and get Rigsby to start filling out the paperwork, I'll finish it up when I come back." With that she hung up her phone and turned to Jane who at some point during the phone call had picked Lucy up, "She was tired." He said and sure enough Lucy was nodding off on Janes shoulder.

"The ex-wife came into the CBI building and died of a drug overdose, no chance to get a confession." Lisbon told him with a sigh, she had been hoping that by the end of the day the case would be closed so she could go home and relax with Lucy.

Jane shrugged, as best he could with Lucy half-asleep on him, "It wasn't the ex-wife." He stated and Lisbon looked at him in exasperation as they began to walk back to the CBI, "You said just over an hour ago that you were sure it was the ex-wife." She said.

Jane grinned, "I know I did, I said that so that you would think it was the ex-wife and start looking for her." Lisbon made a face at him, clearly she hadn't cottoned on yet, "No one has to know she died without giving a confession." Jane said and Lisbons eyes widened as she finally understood what was happening.

"So you're going to say that she gave us her confession before killing herself and judge who really killed him from reactions?" Lisbon asked the man, understanding his crazy plans much more these days.

Jane nodded, smiling at her, "Exactly, I think its someone in the family so we'll get them together and tell them the murderer has confessed and been caught, someone will look a little too happy about it and voila case closed." He grinned as he walked off ahead of her, cradling a now sleeping Lucy in his arms as he did so.

Lisbon walked a little faster to catch him up, looking at the way he was being so gentle with her niece in pure adoration, he must have been an amazing father, his little girl must have been so lucky.

When she caught him up they had just entered the parking lot of the CBI and Cho and Van Pelt were waiting by the SUV, Lisbon smiled, "You guys can handle this, I had better stay here with Lucy."

Jane shook his head, "You should go, I'll stay here with Lucy and get the family in, by the time you come back I should have the killer and you should have the murder weapon."

Lisbon narrowed her eyes at the man, "Will you be alright with her?" She asked, a little worried.

Jane smiled, "I'll be fine, I had a daughter Lisbon, I know how to treat kids." He chuckled and it shocked Lisbon, it was the first time he had light-heartedly mentioned his daughter.

To comfort her he added, "She's sleeping anyway, I'll put her down on my couch and leave her be, this morning has probably exhausted her."

Jane watched as she fought an internal battle, to go with her heart and stay with her niece or go with her head and help Cho and Van Pelt search the ex-wife's house.

With a sigh she nodded, "Alright, call me if she asks for me, I hate leaving her alone with people she barely knows."

Jane nodded, "No problem, have fun!" And with a grin he walked towards the CBI building.

Lisbon got into the drivers seat of the SUV with Cho in the passenger seat and Van Pelt in the back, "She's a cute kid." Cho remarked to Lisbon, "I think she's got Jane wrapped around her finger."

Lisbon smiled at her friend, "I think she's got all of us wrapped around her finger." She said.

**888888888888**

In the bullpen a rather amusing scene was taking place. Jane had taken Lucy up to the bullpen, lay her on his couch and gone to sit (for the first time ever) at his desk. Rigsby was sitting at the desk opposite him filling out paperwork and looking quite pissed off.

"The only reason she asked you to stay here and do the paperwork instead of Van Pelt like she usually does is because she feels bad for making Van Pelt baby-sit this morning." He told Rigsby casually, but the man just grunted and at a loss of things to do Jane trundled to the kitchen to make himself some tea.

Whilst in the process of making said tea Hightower entered the kitchen to top up on her coffee, "Hello Patrick." She said politely as she made her way over to the coffee machine, he smiled his hello and she asked, "Please tell me the others are following a lead. The AG is angry enough that our leading suspect died on our premises."

Jane shrugged, "She wasn't the murderer anyway."

"And you know who is?" She asked him, looking at him in a scrutinising way, he shrugged, "I have a hunch." He stated.

She looked ready to start telling him off, but that was when little feet pattered on the floor and Jane turned around to see a tired Lucy rubbing her eyes, "I'm thirsty Patrick." She said as she turned her big green eyes on the man.

Forgetting momentarily that Hightower was in the room Jane smiled, "Would you like a glass of milk to drink?" He asked her kindly and when she nodded sleepily he lifted her up and sat her down in a chair at the table.

Hightower cleared her throat and Jane turned from the fridge, milk in hand remembering she was there. He got over the momentary lapse in judgement by grinning at her, "This is Lucy Teresa Jacky Lisbon." He told her, chuckling when the girl nodded proudly, "Lisbon's niece." He added, although he figured she already knew as much.

**A/N- Aww Lucy is so cute, I think she is possibly the cutest character I have ever created haha!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Weddings

**The Joys of Children**

**Chapter 6- Weddings  
**

Hightower smiled and waved back as Lucy waved at her, "She looks a lot like Agent Lisbon." Hightower remarked, Jane nodded as he put a glass of milk down on the table for Lucy, "I know, it's the eyes and the hair, I think dark hair and green eyes run in the family, her brothers all have those traits too."

Hightower looked at Jane for a few seconds longer than she normally would and Jane (not for the first time) had the horrible feeling that she knew what he was thinking, he wouldn't be surprised if she had been a mentalist at one point in her life.

"Where_ is_ Agent Lisbon?" Hightower asked Jane suddenly, but before Jane could reply Lucy had replied for him, "Aunt Tessie went away in the car with Grace and Kim." She said brightly.

Hightower couldn't help the small smile that spread over her face at the girls words, she was adorable. She turned back to Jane and mouthed 'Kim?' Jane grinned, "Oh yeah, Cho just loves it." He said sarcastically causing Hightower to shake her head in amusement.

"She's searching the victims house for the-" he stopped himself when he noticed that Lucy was hanging onto his every word, Hightower had apparently noticed too. Jane continued, "The bad thing that does bad things to people."

Catching on Hightower nodded, "Hopefully you find it and can get this case closed by the end of the day." She said before leaving the kitchen with her coffee. Jane stirred his tea and sat down across from Lucy at the table.

Grinning a little too cheekily he asked Lucy, "So what kind of stories does your Aunt Tessie tell you about her friends?"

After swallowing a gulp of milk Lucy burst into story-telling mode, "Well when I was a bit littler she used to tell me about Wayne and Kim, she used to like Kim." Lucy told Jane with a giggle and by the way she said it, he assumed that Lucy meant Lisbon had liked Cho as more than a friend at one point.

"But Kim has a girlfriend now, but Aunt Tessie doesn't mind because she says that she might be falling in love with someone else and I thought she was in love with Wayne, but Aunt Tessie says Wayne and Grace love each other and that means they're going to get married." She grinned at Jane, who smiled in response as she continued, "And I asked Aunt Tessie if Wayne and Grace would get married and she said maybe and she said I might be able to be the flower girl at the wedding and wear a beautiful dress!"

Lucy looked positively ecstatic at the thought and it made Jane chuckle, "That sounds very nice." He told her happily.

She nodded, "I want to be the flower girl at Aunt Tessie's wedding too, Aunt Tessie wants to get married and have a little girl like me one day." She told Jane and he tried to hide his shock, he didn't know Lisbon wanted a family, she had never mentioned it to him.

"Does she?" Jane asked kindly, causing Lucy to excitedly carry on, "I asked Aunt Tessie if one day she would have a baby for me to play with and she said maybe, but she said if she had a baby it would have to stay in my room, but its okay because I don't mind sharing my room with a baby, but Aunt Tessie says you have to be married before you have a baby and she isn't married yet, but I think she wants to marry you." Lucy burst into uncontrollable giggles as Janes eyes widened.

What kind of things did she say about him to Lucy to make her think that her Aunt wanted to marry him? He didn't have a chance to ask however because Lucy started talking again through her giggles.

"I asked Aunt Tessie if she was going to marry you and she said she thought you were funny and handsome." The giggles became uncontrollable and Jane grinned at how cute she looked as she hid behind the notepad that she had brought into the kitchen with her.

"Did she now?" Jane asked, he couldn't wait for Lisbon to get back so he could tell her all about this conversation.

Lucy nodded, peaking out from behind her notepad, "She did! She says you can't marry anyone yet though because you have to find a bad man first, but she says that once you find the bad man and put him in jail then maybe you will marry her and I asked if I would be big then and she said maybe, but she said even if I was big I could still be the flower girl!"

Jane grinned, now _this_ was why he loved kids so much, they innocently spilled information out that would be priceless for him, oh the never-ending teasing in Lisbons future would be bliss.

"But Aunt Tessie said that maybe you don't want to marry her, but you have to want to marry her because she's Aunt Tessie! And she's very beautiful isn't she?" Lucy said very quickly, taking a deep breath to catch her breath, boy this kid talked a lot.

Jane felt a bit uncomfortable, but no one was around and she was only 5, what was the harm?, "She is very beautiful." He agreed.

"And she's very clever too." Lucy said, Jane nodded, "Yes, she is."

Lucy grinned, "Patrick are you going to marry my Aunt Tessie?"

The question took Jane by surprise and he found himself speechless, he opened his mouth to reply when Lisbons voice came from the door of the kitchen, "We got it and guess whose fingerprints were on it?" She asked Jane.

However, Jane was so taken aback by Lucy's question that he just shrugged. Frowning a little at Jane's lack of enthusiasm Lisbon said, "The brother, we arrested him and got a confession, case closed."

Jane smiled, "That's good, its only 4pm, you can go home, enjoy your night, take Lucy out tomorrow and have the weekend you said you would."

Lisbon smiled, he was acting a little odd, "Yeah, that's the plan." She said with a small smile at Lucy who was still grinning and clutching her notepad.

"Why are you so happy missy?" She asked her niece curiously, Lucy giggled and glanced at Jane then at Lisbon, "I asked Patrick if he wanted to marry you!" She burst into giggles and Lisbon had to work very hard to stop her jaw from dropping.

She was going to tell her niece off, but then another thought entered her head, with a cheeky smile she asked, "And what did Patrick say?"

Still giggling Lucy said, "He didn't answer and that means that he does want to marry you and when you marry Patrick can I call him Uncle Patrick?" She looked delighted at the thought and Lisbon noticed that Jane's cheeks were just the slightest bit pink.

Grinning she picked up her niece, "Of course you can." She played along, "Now, why don't we stop by the shop on the way home and pick a movie for tonight?"

Lucy nodded, "Can Patrick come too?" She asked and Lisbon just couldn't say no when she turned those big green orbs on her.

She glanced at Jane who was smiling lightly at the girl, "Only if Patrick wants too." She said, sure that Jane would say no or make an excuse, but he stood up from the table and said, "That sounds like fun."

With a cheeky smile at Lisbon he walked into the bullpen and got his coat, Lisbon put Lucy down, got her things together and told the team they could all go home.

**A/N- Jane is going to Lisbons apartment ;D It's a shame there is a child present...**

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. Dinner & Finding Nemo

**The Joys of Children**

**Chapter 7- Dinner & Finding Nemo  
**

When Jane, Lisbon and Lucy reached the CBI parking lot, Jane said he would take his own car and meet them at Lisbons apartment, she agreed that it would be easier and said she would see him soon.

Lisbon got into her car with Lucy buckled in beside her and as promised they stopped in at the shop on their way back to Lisbons apartment. It took Lucy 10 minutes, but she eventually decided that she wanted "Finding Nemo." By the time they had bought the movie and headed back to Lisbons apartment Lisbon wasn't surprised to find Janes car waiting there already.

When she helped Lucy out and unlocked the door he easily followed her into her ground floor apartment. Lucy was raving about how she couldn't wait to watch the movie and she was telling Jane about how her Mom had it and it was her favourite at her own house.

Lisbon was looking through her cupboards and with a sigh turned to her niece, "What do you want for dinner sweetie?" She asked, she had shopped specifically for this visit because she knew that having Lucy in the house meant she would need more food.

Lucy thought about the question for a moment and then her eyes lit up, "Can you make you're special pasta?" She asked and smiling a little she nodded, "Of course and I think I know what you want for your desert."

Lucy hurried forward and looked in the fridge, gasping in delight when she saw her Aunts home-made trifle. She hugged Lisbon and turned to Jane, "My Aunt Tessie makes the most best ever trifle in the world!" She stated and Lisbon laughed, "Apparently I do." she murmured to Jane.

"Alright honey dinner will take a little while to make, why don't you go play in your room?" Lisbon suggested casually, not seeing the harm in the statement until she looked up from taking the pasta out of the cupboard to see Lucy leading Jane towards her room.

Panic took over her and she hurried forward, "Lucy, don't show-" However she was too late, Lucy had opened the door to her room and Jane was standing in the doorway.

Lisbon put a hand on his arm and he looked at her with a frown, "What is it Lisbon?" He asked, she looked at him in confusion.

"Well I didn't want you to see her room because of the wall." Lisbon told him quietly, he looked over at the opposite wall and laughed, "Its an innocent kids drawing, don't worry about it." He gave her a genuine smile and she almost breathed a sigh of relief as Jane walked into the room so that he could see the toys that Lucy was showing him.

Lisbon went back to her preparation of the dinner, not even realising that she was making dinner for 3 without even asking Jane if he wanted anything, "Are you staying for dinner Jane?" She called from the open plan kitchen-dining room.

In Lucy's room she nodded and whispered, "You have to stay for tea, Aunt Tessie makes the best pasta in the world and you have to taste her trifle!"

Jane chuckled and shouted a 'Sure' back to Lisbon from his spot on the floor. Lucy nodded at him happily as if to say she approved and Jane knew he would miss her when she went back to her parents after the weekend, she already had him wrapped around her little finger, just like she did with Lisbon.

When Lisbon announced that dinner was ready they sat at the table, they just sat there eating and talking about whatever popped into their head. It made Jane feel like he was part of a family again and it freaked him out a little, not that he let it show of course.

Lucy had been right about Lisbons cooking for one thing, it really was delicious, he had told her as much and she had blushed scarlet at his words.

Lucy led most of the discussion throughout dinner, talking herself hoarse as she told them about her parents and her friends in San Francisco, it made Lisbon feel a little homesick and Jane could tell, but out of respect for her he pretended not to notice anything.

Once dinner was finished and all the plates were in the sink the trio settled down on Lisbons couch with Lucy in-between them and the movie on. Throughout the film he felt his heart leap when Lisbon chuckled at something on the screen or when she tickled Lucy to try and keep her awake until the end of the film. Lisbon didn't seem to notice that Janes eyes were on her rather than the screen for most of the movie, but when the titles rolled up she glanced at him and caught his eye, he held it for a moment, forgetting that the adoration hadn't yet faded from his eyes, as soon as the thought entered his head he broke her gaze and turned to look at Lucy who had fallen asleep 5 minutes before the end of the movie.

Jane lifted her up and carried her through to her room after tucking her in he let Lisbon kiss her goodnight before turning the lift off and leaving the door ajar, exactly as Lisbon did every night for the little girl. The action confused her a little, but she let it slide and returned to the couch, with Jane following her.

"Lucy told me some very interesting things today." Jane told Lisbon with a grin as he sat next to her on the couch.

Her cheeks flushed, "Did she?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at Jane, but the telltale blush gave her away.

"She did, she told me about how you used to have a crush on Cho." He smirked as the blush became more prominent and she rushed to defend herself, "When I first started working with him, it was like 2 years ago and it didn't last very long."

Jane didn't seem convinced, but he moved on anyway, "And apparently you've been telling her that Grace and Rigsby are going to get married, I wonder what they would say to that…"

She glared at him warningly and he chuckled, "Oh and of course she was telling me all about how you want to marry me, but not until after the 'bad man' is gone."

Lisbons entire face was turning red with her embarrassment now and feeling a little guilty he stopped teasing her, "Jane, children hear things and make up their own little stories about them in their head. I may have happened to mention one Christmas that I found you attractive, but that doesn't mean I want to marry you."

Jane grinned, "The awkward tone in which you say that and the fact that you can't stop blushing suggests otherwise Lisbon."

She rolled her eyes, beginning to get annoyed with the consultant now, "Jane-"

However she was cut off when out of the blue she felt the mans lips on hers, surprised at first she didn't respond, but when she realised what was happening she kissed him back. The kiss was gentle, saying all the things she knew he couldn't say, not yet anyway.

Lisbon felt a little light-headed as she kissed the man, but they broke apart abruptly when a giggle erupted from behind the couch. Lucy had sneaked out of her bed and was hiding behind the couch, she had peaked her head over and was watching them, giggling.

Lisbon wanted to glare at her, but she was too adorable, she was embarrassed that her niece had caught her kissing her consultant though.

"You're going to get married." She stated, launching into another round of giggles as she hid behind the couch again.

Lisbon looked at Jane and Jane looked at Lisbon, they both laughed lightly at the irony of the entire situation, a 5 year old girl had seen their feelings for each other before they themselves had. Jane was a mentalist, this was possibly one of his biggest failures to date.

Lucy had made her way around the couch to stand in front of them and she was showing them a picture on her notepad, "I've been drawing it all day!" She said proudly and when Jane and Lisbon looked at it they got a rough idea of what it was. There were two stick people, one with long hair and one with short hair holding hands and lots of floating pink heads in the background.

Lucy said, "That's you Aunt Tessie! And that's Uncle Patrick and that's Grace and Wayne and Kim and there's me, I'm holding flowers because I'm going to be the flower girl when you get married." She giggled once more before kissing Lisbon on the cheek and hugging Jane then hurrying back into her room, giggling all the way.

When the sound of giggling from Lucy's room had stopped Lisbon assumed she was going back to sleep and turned back to Jane, he wasn't sure yet if she was mortified or amused, possibly both.

He just grinned, "She's 5 years old and she figured it out before we did." He stated with a chuckle.

Lisbon leant her head against Janes shoulder, probably trying to hide her blushing face, he didn't know why she bothered, he saw it on a daily basis anyway, "She's too smart for her own good."

They sat in silence for a moment before Jane spoke up, "I guess this means we better make sur she's the flower girl when we get married."

"What?"

**The End ! =]**

**A/N- Hehe Jane/Lisbon + Child = CUTE OVERLOAD!**

**Hope you guys enjoyed this! I spent quite a few hours on it and wrote it all within the one day! I find it easier to finish fics if I just write the whole thing when I have the inspiration and the energy for it!**

**Thanks for reading & if you're feeling generous, can you maybe tell me what you thought of this? ;D**


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